The Brattleboro Swim Team(BST), is a competitive swim team for children ages 6-18 operating in the southeast corner of Vermont. We are a summer recreation league practicing and competing for 6–7 weeks in the middle of the summer.

We compete in the district of the Southern Vermont Swim League which is a member of the Vermont Swim Association.

All swim team communications are broadcast through this website and the SwimTopia app. Occasionally, non-essential or redundant messaging is made on our team FaceBook page. Swimmer availability for Swim Meets, the organization of Team Functions, and Critical Alerts(practice cancellations) are managed through the SwimTopia app. 

Involvement with this organization requires a consistent investment of your time and attention. You are responsible for staying current with swim team activities. 

• There are no group emails or group text messages. 
• Everything is broadcast through the SwimTopia ecosystem. 

The operations at SwimTopia are performed by former olympic swimmers and a squad of swim moms. They understand age-group swimming administration. Their tech support is A+.

Importance of Communication

Open, Honest, and Timely communication is the key to a successful experience as a member of the Brattleboro Swim Team. If at any time you have questions or concerns, please speak with The Head Coach outside of the scheduled practice time. In most cases questions concerning your swimmer’s development can best be handled by speaking directly to the Coach.

Do not hesitate to bring questions or problems to the BST Board.

Avenues of Communication

In order to keep our team members well informed, we have developed several avenues to communicate information.

SwimTopia:

The majority of our group communication will be delivered through SwimTopia. Last minute, Emergency, and Timely information will be communicated through SwimTopia’s Alert feature. Make sure your notifications are turned on to receive SwimTopia Alerts. Driving to practice and discovering that it has been cancelled at the 11th hour may not be fun, especially if your family’s commuting situation is complicated.

Parent Meetings:

BST will hold an early season pizza party/parent meeting. It’s your responsibility to be informed.

Websites:

These websites are full of information about swimming in Vermont and New England as well as the comprehensive USA Swimming website.

• Vermont Swim Association
• New England Swimming
• USA Swimming: www.usaswimming.org

Supporting Your Swimmer

It is the coach’s job to offer constructive criticism of a swimmer’s performance. It is the parent’s role to provide love, recognition, and encouragement necessary to help a young athlete feel positive about him/herself. Be the person that your swimmer can look to for constant, positive reinforcement.

• Strive to provide your swimmer with the basic opportunities they need to have a positive swimming experience. Make sure your swimmer arrives on time and regularly attends practice and swim meets.
• A parent’s attitude influences their child's attitude. A swimmer might not be consciously aware of what is taking place, while subconsciously absorbing powerful messages about a parent’s desires and feelings. Be enthusiastic about taking your swimmer to practices. Volunteer to support the team and its activities. Don’t frame these activities as obligations. Use approach strategies to foster the development of a positive attitude in your child.
• Every individual learns at a different pace and responds differently to the various methods of skill presentation. Some swimmers take more time to learn. This requires patience on the part of the coach and the parent
• Avoid comparing the skill, courage, determination, attitude, performance, or improvement of your swimmer to other swimmers. Swimmers mature physiologically and psychologically at different ages; the weakest swimmer in a practice group this year could be leading practices in the future.
• The etymology of the word “competition” reaches back to the Latin words “com” and “petere,” which mean “together to strive.” It is important to teach young swimmers to compete with, not against, others and to use competition to help them strive to be their own best self.